Regrets
by CherriiMarina
Summary: "Hello, darling, from the other side." After receiving a deathbed letter from a former lover, Minerva looks back with regrets at some of the choices she made. MM/HG romantic. Femmeslash.


**A/N:** I own nothing, save for my small collection of words and phrases. It all belongs to the creative goddess of our generation. The song belongs to Adele.

Tissue warning: Major character death, but to clarify, it is not suicide. This is simply a story of memories and regrets, hence the title.

This is un-betaed, so any mistakes are my own. See one? Please, let me know.

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The sheets of parchment fluttered down to the desk, joining the red confetti leftover from the Howler that had exploded earlier. A shaking hand rose to cover a sobbing mouth, tears streaming down colorless cheeks, as Minerva McGonagall collapsed back into her chair.

 _How had this happened? Why did it have to be her? Could it have been prevented if…_

Questions rolled around in her grief-stricken mind in an endless loop. Her harsh sobbing caused her lungs to run out of oxygen, and she began choking, hacking, struggling to get air. Bent over her knees, she finally gasped, air rattling her chest as it rushed into her deprived system. Lacking the strength to sit back upright, she slid down onto the floor, still sobbing and gasping for breath, and laid down, curled tightly into herself.

Amidst her struggles, she missed the whooshing sound of someone entering her office via the Floo network, as well as the voice tentatively calling out, "Headmistress?"

The sounds of her crying brought the new visitor around, and he sighed when he spotted her, eyes flicking up to the bits of paper and parchment on her desk. "I guess you already know then. Oh, Minerva."

Harry Potter sat on the floor next to her, and pulled the grieving woman onto his lap, muttering softly his words of comfort, wincing a bit at how tightly she was gripping him as she cried.

They sat this way for hours, both mourning the loss of someone they loved. When her tears finally dried up, she rasped out, "It's true, then? Too late?"

"Yeah. She's gone."

She screamed then, anger beginning to tint her grief. "DAMN YOU!"

"She loved you, you know. Probably her whole life. She never stopped."

"So she said in the letter." She stopped for a moment, breathing deeply and trying to regain her composure. "What she didn't realize, however, is that neither did I."

"I never understood what really happened between you two, and I understand this isn't the time to ask."

"No. It's not." Limbs trembling, she stood, and he winced at the creaking and popping in her joints as they straightened after so long on the floor. "I'm just going to go compose myself. You're welcome to stay a while if you like. Just call for Marta if you need anything."

She smoothed her hair back out of her face and made her way across her office to the door leading into her private quarters.

"Minerva?" Harry called out.

She stopped in the doorway. "Yes?"

He gestured at the letter on her desk. "May I?"

She sighed deeply. "If you like."

"Thank you."

She did not respond, instead disappearing into her rooms, and after the door latched with a soft click, he picked up the sheets of folded parchment and ran his fingers over the handwriting he knew so well. He'd copied it for years in school, and read many letters from her over their school holidays and then in the years after the war and school were over, they'd frequently corresponded. She'd been his best friend in the whole world, and now … now she was dead. He took a deep breath and began reading.

 _Dear Minerva,_

 _Hello, darling, from the other side. By the time you get this, I will be gone._

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TBC. I know it's not what you want from me, and it's not nearly long enough, but perhaps you'll forgive me. Yes, this is an all-out angst-fest. I suggest tissues and lots of them. (And yes, that's Hermione they're talking about. This is Minerva/Hermione and features Femmeslash. If, after reading this, you find that that's not a thing for you, I understand if you close it out and don't come back.)


End file.
